Species group · Arachnids
WAnimals has 2 species of mite, spread across 2 families (Pyroglyphidae, Sarcoptidae).
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 2.
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Recorded in 6 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
It measures 0.3 mm and feeds on flakes of skin; its droppings are the main cause of household respiratory allergy.
It depends entirely on ambient humidity: it absorbs water from the air and dies if relative humidity stays low, which is why it is all but absent in dry climates or at high altitude.
It neither bites nor parasitises anyone: the problem is the proteins in its droppings and in the remains of its body.
It tunnels into the outer skin to lay its eggs, causing intense itching.
From Itch Mite
The World Health Organization lists scabies among the neglected tropical diseases: it affects more than two hundred million people at any one time.
From Itch Mite
The same species causes sarcoptic mange in foxes, wolves, wild canids and wombats, with outbreaks capable of decimating whole wildlife populations.
From Itch Mite